


A Day at Safari Land

by AstreaLunari



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7486728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstreaLunari/pseuds/AstreaLunari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean takes over for Sam as the Chaperone for his Nieces field trip. Dean isn't too enthused. At least, not until he meets the guide through Safari Land.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day at Safari Land

**Author's Note:**

> Short Story Prompt posted on Destiel Fanfic Writers & Readers. I am having problems with AO3 saving my format, so please bear with me. HAD A LOT OF HELP FROM Fran! Thank you Hun, I really appreciate it.

'How did I wind up here?' Dean wondered, as he stood in line to pick up the tokens for his group. The girls behind him giggling and dancing on their tippy toes to entertain themselves. Dean knew exactly how he ended up here at Safari Land.

2 Weeks earlier.

“Dean I need you to do me a huge favor.” Sam asked over the phone one Tuesday morning. Dean had just rolled out of bed and was in the process of making coffee before he started the day.

“Can it wait till I had my first cup, Sammy?” Dean asked, taking the milk out of the fridge. He had no idea what his brother wanted this early in the morning, but it probably wasn't good if he was calling this early.

“Fine, hold on a second. MARY GET YOUR SHOES ON, YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!” Dean could hear a muffled 'yes daddy' from his favorite niece over the other end and smiled softly. He took the pot off the burner and began to pour his first cup of the morning, knowing it was going to be at least a two cup day.

“Okay, shoot, what can I do for you today Sammy?” Dean asked, taking a sip. He grimaced, realizing he forgot to put in the milk and sugar.

“Well, as you know, I broke my leg a few days ago, and I already talked to her teachers, but I was wondering if you would possibly want to chaperone Mary's school trip in a few weeks?”

The milk spilled over Dean’s hand and onto the counter. He quickly uprighted the jug and reached for a towel, hanging on his oven door. “I'm sorry Sam, but can you repeat that? I swear you just asked me to chaperone Mary's school trip but that couldn't be right.”

“You heard me, Dean. I would deeply appreciate it too. Plus, Mary would love to see her favorite uncle. You haven't been around as much since that nasty break up.” Dean shuttered at the memory.

“I dunno, Sam, I am not really good with kids. I am sure Mary would rather have someone else do it.”

“She specifically asked for you, Dean.” Dean could hear the slight irritation in his brother's voice.

He sighed and downed his cup of coffee. “Fine. I will do it for her, but next time, try not to conveniently break your leg.”

Hearing his brother laugh made him feel a bit better about the situation, and he’d get to see his niece. It really had been a while since he had gotten any real time with the little monster.

Back to Present day

“Here are your tokens, Sir, you are on the 12:30pm Tram. But if you miss it, don't worry, come back up here and we will get you on the next available tram.” The woman in the window winked at him and made sure to brush her hand against his as she handed him the tokens. “Have fun! Oh, don't forget to get your hands stamped, so you can be let back into the park!” Dean rolled his eyes, he wasn’t coming back in if it killed him. He let the little ones get their hands stamped and ushered them inside the park.

Mary ran up to her uncle and hugged his leg. “So, Uncle Dean, what do we do first?!” The little girl had been waiting for this trip all year and was excited to say the least. Dean smiled, tucked the tokens into his pocket and pulled out his phone to set an alarm for the tram. He really didn't want to go back to the ticket lady.

“Well, Mary, you are in charge of the map. But first, I would like to get to know you all.” He pulled his small group to the side and did a quick head count. Five kids including his niece. Perfect. “I never got to learn your names.”

“I am Cain!” A little boy with dark brown hair and eyes to match said, raising his hand up high.

“I'm Laura.” The little girl with curly blonde hair and green eyes said shyly, hiding behind Cain.

“Hi Mr. Dean, my name is Charlie! I am Mary's best friend!” This girl had spunk and Dean couldn't help but smile at her. She had red hair and an attitude to match.

“I'm Albert, but my nickname is Benny.” This boy was sweet too. He had a little bit of an accent which reminded him of his best friend back home.

“My best friend’s name is Benny too.” Dean smiled. “He's from Louisiana.”

“Me too!” Said Mini Benny.

“My turn! But you already know me, don't you Uncle Dean?” Mary chimed in and grabbed her uncle's hand. Dean smiled at the little girl. Hey, he missed her.

By this time, Charlie had grabbed the map out of her best friend's back pocket and began looking at the pictures. “Why don't we go see the monkeys first,” she said, her voice ringing with excitement. The children screamed in agreement and Dean begrudgingly followed close behind the small herd.

An hour and a half later, Dean got a phone call from the kid's teacher, telling him that they needed to meet up at the main entrance and the picnic tables for lunch. The school provided the kids each with a sack lunch which included a ham and cheese sandwich, a carton of juice, a carton of milk, an apple, and a vegetable of some kind. The kids got to choose their vegetables. Dean excused himself to go find a restroom while the kids ate and played around the picnic tables.

Usually, the bathrooms were at the front of places like this. He hated to admit it, but he was lost. Seeing a gentleman who was wearing the uniform of Safari Land, he tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, do you know where I can find the bathroom?”

The man turned around and for a moment, Dean was awestruck by the man's eyes. He glanced at the man's name tag and tilted his head to the side. “Castille?”

“It's pronounced Cas-tea-ell, Castiel.” The park employee smiled and felt himself blushing.

“Ah, sorry man, uh...bathrooms?” This man was handsome. His dark, nearly black hair, deep blue eyes, pale skin, and while the man looked slim, he had muscles. Thank the Lord for T-shirts here.

Castiel smiled and pointed to the left. “I apologize, they are kind of hidden against the wall. Bad planning on the designer’s part.” The dark haired man laughed and Dean smiled. Maybe today wasn't going to be too bad after all. “Oh, have you gone on the tram yet? I am leading the 12:30 one, maybe I will see you there?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, we have the tokens for that one. I think they reserved the front car?”

“OH! You must be the elementary group. I have a great routine planned out for you guys.” Castiel obviously loved his job and it was nice to see someone so passionate about it.

Dean smiled and shook hands with the other man. “Well, it was nice meeting you, thanks for the help by the way.”

“No problem, happy to help a man in trouble. Hope to see you around.” Castiel smiled and headed off in the direction of the tram station. Dean smiled after the man and headed to the bathroom.

Lunch was ended quickly and just as they finished, Dean's alarm rang. “Okay, kiddos, we are going to be heading to the tram now, keep together and whatever you do, listen to everything they tell you.” He leaned down and conspiratorially whispered, “I was told there was going to be a test on this later.” The sound of the children's groans and whines made him smile. Nothing could make this day better.

Sanding in line and listening to the attendant talk about the rules was boring. Don't stick anything out the windows, check. Don't throw food out the windows, check. Don't jump out of the windows, check. Why don't they just put glass on the windows? Dean thought. He did a quick headcount and smiled. Mary was right by his side. 

“What do you think we are going to see, Uncle Dean?”

“I dunno, Mary. Maybe lions, or tigers, or bears...”

“Oh my!” Came a familiar voice. Dean looked up and saw Castiel standing next to him. “Hello, kids, my name is Castiel. I am going to be your guide today. I’m going to need a grownup assistant though. Someone with good eyes, who can spot all the animals out in the Savannah.”

“Uncle Dean! Uncle Dean! You do it! You be Mr. Catstiel's helper!” Mary chimed happily tugging on the man's shirt and pulling him to Castiel. Dean was blushing slightly as the little girl pulled him along.

“Well, what do you say Mr. Catstiel? Can I be your helper?” Dean smiled, purposefully using Mary’s mispronunciation of the man’s name. He held his hand out. Castiel took it and nodded.

“Sure, Uncle Dean. Oh, you can call me Cas. It's much easier to say and quicker for if something appears out there.” Cas smiled and let go of Dean's hand.

“YAY!” Mary shouted, her friends cheering as well. Cas told the group to line up and get on the tram, so that everyone could see the safari animals. Dean took his spot next to the guide and did another headcount to make sure his group was all there. He had been doing a lot of those lately and smiled when it occurred to him that his little group had grown on him, even the rambunctious Charlie. The tram started off slowly. Immediately, there was a heard of gazelle in view. The kids oohed and ahhed at the deer. 

“On your left, kids, you will see a heard of Thomson's Gazelle. They are known for running upwards of forty miles per hour,” Cas said over his microphone.”They are herbivores, which means they eat...”

“PLANTS!” All the kids yelled enthusiastically.

“That's right. Do you see any other animals, Mr. Dean?” Cas asked, winking at the older man. Dean sat up straight and looked outside to the right then the left. He noticed something under one of the trees.

“I think I see a lion to the right!” He never felt this excited before.

“So you do! Kids, if you look to the right and under that tree over there, you will see a small pride of lions. A pride consists of up to three males, a dozen related females, and their young. The size of the pride is determined by the availability of food and water.” Cas smiled. “Recently we just had two litters of cubs born to us. Let's see if we can see them.”

Dean leaned closer to the window, careful not to lean out and squinted. He felt a presence lean close to him and warm breath on the back of his neck. The hairs on his nape stood up and Dean turned bright red. It was then that he saw a tiny head pop up from on top of one of the females. “I see one!”

“Beautiful, aren't they?” Cas whispered, close to Dean's ear before standing straight. “It appears that my helper has spotted one of the cubs. Look at it play with the ears of the female. Now, not just the mother raises the young. It could be that mom is out hunting right now and that is a nanny. Do any of you have nannies or babysitters?”

Several hands shot up and a few ME's could be heard across the tram. Dean smiled at the kids and looked back outside. For about forty-five minutes, the entire group learned about all the animals on the African plains. When the tram finally pulled back into the station and the kids unloaded, it was about time for them to get ready to go back to school. Dean was disappointed and it showed. Mary took his hand. “Alright guys, what do we say to Mr. Cas?”

“THANK YOU, MR. CAS!” Everyone chimed in and waved at their guide. Dean smiled at the younger man and waved as well.

“Why don't you have your hand stamped, Uncle Dean?” Mary asked softly, noticing that her uncle's hands were not like the rest of the grownups and kids.

“Because I don't plan on coming back today.” Dean smiled down at his niece. “You all got your hands stamped because it was fun.”

Mary nodded and let go of her uncle’s hand. She joined the rest of her group and walked with them to the entrance. Dean looked back and smiled. It wasn't such a bad day after all.

“Hey, I think you should get your hand stamped.” 

Dean looked up and saw Castiel at the entrance. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight. They are staying open a little later than usual for a campout with one of the schools around here. So, I don't get off until around ten. I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner at the Cafe around, say seven?” Cas looked hopeful, his eyes downcast.

Dean smiled. “Yeah, that sounds awesome.”

“Uncle Dean just broke up with his boyfriend, maybe you can be his new one!” Mary came running up and pushed Dean close to Cas. The other kids all joined in. One pulling the map out of his pocket and handing it to Cas.

“Write your number on this!” Charlie shouted and dug through her pockets for a pen. Cas was already ahead of her. He pulled a pen from his shirt pocket and wrote it down on the map.

“You kids remind him of the date later, okay?”

“Yes sir!” They dragged Dean to the booth to get his hand stamped.

Okay, so today wasn't bad after all, Dean thought, looking at the green stamp on his hand. Maybe it was meant to be.


End file.
